Drone regulations in Slovakia
Last update on 17.05.2022 | 9 Kommentare
In this article, you’ll learn what you need to know about flying a drone in Slovakia.
Untouched natural landscapes with high mountains and mysterious gorges, historic castles, and elegant chateaux – Slovakia has great drone motifs to offer!
In the following, we give you an overview of the current rules in the country.
In the meantime, the drone regulations valid throughout Europe have also been adopted in Slovakia, so that the hurdles for a drone flight appear low at first glance. Nevertheless, there are some special features and deviations from the European regulations.
Overview: Drone rules in Slovakia
Drone labels can be ordered here
Further regulations for drone pilots in Slovakia
In Slovakia, drones must remain within visual line of sight. The maximum allowed distance between pilot and drone must not exceed 1000 meters.
Safety distances and flight bans
The required distance to airports in controlled airspace depends on the subcategory in which a drone flight takes place. For flights in subcategory A1 and A2, 3.7 kilometres distance applies. Within the subcategory, a distance of 5.6 kilometres must be maintained.
In Slovakia, drones may only be used during daylight hours without further permission.
Special rules in Slovakia
If you want to take aerial photographs, you’ll need to get permission from the Department of Defense, and depending on the type of operation, your flight may belong to the commercial category.
Regulations for commercial pilots
Commercial drone pilots need a permit from the traffic authority (permission to perform air works, § 44 Slovak Air Traffic Law). This requires registration of the copter, and you have to pass a theoretical and a practical examination in the Slovakian language with the Transport Authority. An administrative fee of 600 euros will be charged for a permit.
We have researched the listed drone regulations for Slovakia to the best of our knowledge. We can not guarantee the correctness of the information. If you want to be on the safe side, please contact the competent aviation authority. Alternatively, you can also ask the embassy in your country for further information about the regulations. Please leave us a comment when you receive news and/or gain experience with your copter in Slovakia!
I have other information about flights in Slovakia. I signed with the consulate of Slovakia and that’s what they told me 12 may 2017:
“Current law in Slovakia regarding the usage of any drones under 20kg equiped with camera requires a registration of the drone at the Ministry of Defense (with a fee 600 Eur), if they are to be used for commercial purposes (for example commercial photography/video). If it is for your private use, you do not need to register it, but need to abide by the general rules:
– Flight of a drone cannot endanger security of other airplanes, persons or property on the ground and must respect the preservation of environment with noise and emissions. Therefore it cannot fly higher than 120 meters above the ground and 1km from the person controling it. It must fly at least 50m from any other person, building, boat or vehicle.
– It cannot fly over inhabited areas or human gatherings
– Person controling the drone must keep eye contact with drone at any time of its flight
– Using drone at night is prohibited”
As living in Slovakia and flying drone here regularly, I can confirm abovementioned rules…
…and I would add that if you are flying in altitude more than 50m (ground) nobody cares… even if you’ve lost direct eye contact… 😉
When you choose apropriate place for take-off and landing (out of crowded places, ideally somewhere in the field or on the grass), the people around are mostly friendly, sometimes a bit curious, but I’ve never experienced really bad reaction to drone.
Hello,
I’m from Romania, I will go in Slovakia next month.
Would you be so kind and let me know is I can make some photo’s in Bratislava with a Mavic Pro without “Permission from the Ministry of Defense”?
Please be so kind and answer me on my personal email.
Looking forward for your replay
Thank you in advance.
Strictly legally speaking. No. You can not.
In reality everyone with drone ignores the law…
If you fly over people on busy square you are going to get in trouble. If you start from some secluded place on the other side of Donau river and take panoramatic shot of the city, no one will care… (…there were zero fines issued in year 2017… And some 50 euro fines in year 2016, but you would have to do something really stupid to get fined…)
Chiriac Claudiu, could you write something about using drones in Romania?
Thanks.
http://letectvo.nsat.sk/letova-prevadzka/lietadla-sposobile-lietat-bez-pilota/
This particular website (which looks like official civil aviation website) doesn’t mention compulsory insurance.
It states that UAV OPERATION ONLY AS MODEL AIRCRAFT above 20kg is subjected to compulsory insurance.
new rules 2019!!!
for hobby authorization is not necessary
max height: 120m in unmanned flight space, 30m in managed flight space
max distance: visual contact or 1000m
distance from the people, road, buildigns min. 50m
no flight in night, in forbidden zones, national parks…
Hi there. Literally all my family live in Slovakia and I go visit the all the time. I am buying a Mavic Mini 1 which is sub-250g and I just need to know where to apply for a rgistration and how much it costs. Can you please send a link to all the registration sites for drones in Slovakia. Thanks in advance!
Hi Adam,
Our research showed that Slovakia has not yet fully implemented the EU rules, so there is no registration yet for hobby pilots. We expect this will be done in the next few months. Until then, the old rules apply.